| Guidance for magistrates on how to treat breach of ASBOs Guidance to magistrates from the Judicial Studies Board advises that: 'breach of an order is a criminal offence and is itself a serious matter. A court should not lapse into treating the breach of an ASBO as just another minor offence. It should be remembered that the order itself would normally have been a culmination of a course of persistent anti-social behaviour. An ASBO will only be seen to be effective if breaches of it are taken seriously. Further breaches of a court order should be treated very seriously and may need to be referred to the Crown Court for more severe sentencing. The sentence should be both proportionate to the seriousness of the breach and importantly reflect the impact of the anti-social behaviour.' The applicant agency should arrange with the prosecutor to provide the court with information about the context of the breach, including why the order was originally made, the effect of the anti-social behaviour and the breach of the order on the community. Penalties for breach of an ASBO are:
- on summary conviction an adult defendant can be sentenced to a maximum of six months imprisonment and/or a fine not exceeding £5000;
- on indictment (crown court) an adult defendant can be sentenced to a maximum of five years in prison and/or a fine;
- the courts also have the power to impose community penalties, but not a conditional discharge, for a breach of an anti-social behaviour order;
- the youth court deals with breaches of ASBOs by young people under the age of 18. The maximum sentence for a breach of an ASBO for a young person is a two-year detention and training order of which 12 months is served in custody, the remainder is served as a community penalty under the supervision of the Youth Offending Team ( YOT );
- a young person may only be sentenced to a detention and training order if he or she is 15 or over, or is a persistent offender aged between 12 and 14;
- a minor aged 10-11 cannot be given a term of detention but can receive a community penalty for breach of an ASBO.
Guidance for magistrates' sentencing for breaches of ASBOs is contained in the Magistrates' Court Sentencing Guidelines (pdf 676k) 6th edition, published in January 2004. View the Justices' Clerks' Society's Good Practice Guide to Anti-Social Behaviour Orders (doc 1.72mb) - A guide to law and procedure in the magistrates' court.
|
